Details on Apple TV - actually using the hardware before “reviewing” it
Six months after it was announced, Apple TV is
finally here, and of course, our testing is well underway.
One definition where John Dvorak
and I agree 100% of the time is
IPTV.
John’s definition: “IPTV is the transmission of television shows over the Internet both for viewing in real time and for download-and-play.” BTW - that’s viewing on your TV set.
Six months after it was announced, Apple TV is finally here, and of course, our testing is well underway. In order to canvas a variety of different televisions and possible usage models, iLounge’s editors have assembled a robust testing environment for our two Apple TV units: four computers, five HDTVs ranging in size and resolution, one widescreen non-HDTV, and audio receivers with and without optical audio inputs. Prior to our final review, we wanted to share some of our preliminary findings for those who are interested.
QuickTime Pro-converted videos - including high-res ones - and current iTunes Store videos look great, but old (320×240) iTunes videos do not. It shouldn’t be a surprise that Apple TV-formatted videos created by QuickTime, and recent 640×480 videos purchased from the iTunes Store, look great on a television connected to Apple TV. Few people will be able to tell the difference between 640 pixel-wide videos on Apple TV and 720 pixel-wide DVDs, assuming they’ve been encoded properly (see below). Older 320×240 videos sold by Apple for the first year after the launch of the iTunes video Store look grainy and poor by comparison, but they’re still watchable.
This isn’t a “Final” review. I wonder if he’ll ever get John’s point about IPTV. I think Steve Jobs has.
I watch several TV shows a week on a widescreen computer monitor. Some are downloaded as video podcasts through the iTunes store - some aren’t. It’s a menu choice to import them into iTunes and play them using Front Row.
Although I do nothing with video, last week I had to record a memorial for a deceased friend. I used a webcam and ancient Logitech video capture software. I Googled up a piece of DivX compression software and compressed the file to email it. And, then, just to try, I did the usual menu choice to import it into iTunes - which created a separate folder for DivX .mov files - and it plays just fine through Front Row.
Still, the essential reason I’ve ordered an Apple TV is to watch IPTV. Content available will continue to increase. The Apple TV software will change and adapt over time as did the iPod’s. Of course.
John’s definition: “IPTV is the transmission of television shows over the Internet both for viewing in real time and for download-and-play.” BTW - that’s viewing on your TV set.
Six months after it was announced, Apple TV is finally here, and of course, our testing is well underway. In order to canvas a variety of different televisions and possible usage models, iLounge’s editors have assembled a robust testing environment for our two Apple TV units: four computers, five HDTVs ranging in size and resolution, one widescreen non-HDTV, and audio receivers with and without optical audio inputs. Prior to our final review, we wanted to share some of our preliminary findings for those who are interested.
QuickTime Pro-converted videos - including high-res ones - and current iTunes Store videos look great, but old (320×240) iTunes videos do not. It shouldn’t be a surprise that Apple TV-formatted videos created by QuickTime, and recent 640×480 videos purchased from the iTunes Store, look great on a television connected to Apple TV. Few people will be able to tell the difference between 640 pixel-wide videos on Apple TV and 720 pixel-wide DVDs, assuming they’ve been encoded properly (see below). Older 320×240 videos sold by Apple for the first year after the launch of the iTunes video Store look grainy and poor by comparison, but they’re still watchable.
This isn’t a “Final” review. I wonder if he’ll ever get John’s point about IPTV. I think Steve Jobs has.
I watch several TV shows a week on a widescreen computer monitor. Some are downloaded as video podcasts through the iTunes store - some aren’t. It’s a menu choice to import them into iTunes and play them using Front Row.
Although I do nothing with video, last week I had to record a memorial for a deceased friend. I used a webcam and ancient Logitech video capture software. I Googled up a piece of DivX compression software and compressed the file to email it. And, then, just to try, I did the usual menu choice to import it into iTunes - which created a separate folder for DivX .mov files - and it plays just fine through Front Row.
Still, the essential reason I’ve ordered an Apple TV is to watch IPTV. Content available will continue to increase. The Apple TV software will change and adapt over time as did the iPod’s. Of course.
Posted: Fri - March 23, 2007 at 08:45 AM